Nathan

Eovaldi

Eovaldi declined his $20 million option with the Rangers for 2025 and will be one of the more sought after hurlers on the market. Atlanta has needs in its rotation even before considering the potential loss of Max Fried, so this fit makes a lot of sense on paper. Eovaldi has had issues in terms of durability, but he’s been very effective whenever he’s been on the bump.

Eovaldi was in the final year of his contract and is likely hoping to sign a multi-year deal given his age (34 years old) and prior injury history. The Rangers have said they have an interest in bringing the right-hander back, so it’s possible a reunion might be soon, but, for now, Eovaldi will enter free agency.

It’s worth pointing out that Eovaldi was facing a lineup that might not rank among the best in the Pacific Coast League — with apologies to Taylor Ward — but Eovaldi probably doesn’t care. The right-hander was a rare reliable option for Texas in 2024, and while it wasn’t his best season nor close, a 3.80 ERA and 166/42 K/BB is nothing to sneeze at. Eovaldi has a $20 million player option that vested since he reached 300 innings over the last two years, but he will likely decline that option and hit free agency.

Eovaldi jumped over the 162-inning mark to qualify for the ERA title for just the third time in his career. He’s not expected to start again Sunday, so he’s probably done for the year at 11-8 with a 3.96 ERA and a 161/41 K/BB in 163 2/3 innings. He’ll likely decline his player option with the Rangers and land another multiyear deal in free agency.

The Rangers won anyway, so it wasn’t such a bad night for Eovaldi. He also saw his 2025 player option kick in tonight, though he’ll probably decline it; he could stay with the Rangers on a one-year, $20 million deal, but he’ll probably be able to command multiple years on the open market. Eovaldi will face the A’s next Tuesday in what could be his final start of the season.

The D-backs were all over Eovaldi, with nine of their 16 balls in play checking in at over 100 mph. Besides the three homers, Eovaldi also surrendered a 415-foot shot from Corbin Carroll that would have gone out of 23 ballparks. Eovaldi fell to 5-5 with a 4.81 ERA in 10 starts since the All-Star break. He’s given up 12 homers over 58 innings during that span, compared to 10 homers in 94 innings in the first half. He’ll start at home against the Blue Jays next time out.

Eovaldi allowed four hits, walked three and struck out six in his 14th quality start of the season. He improved to 11-7 ahead of a start against the Diamondbacks next Tuesday. If the rotations hold up and Zac Gallen starts for Arizona, that’ll be a rematch of Games 1 and 5 of last year’s World Series, both of which were won by the Rangers.

Sure it came against the White Sox, but this was a very impressive outing for Eovaldi. The only hit allowed was a single by Gavin Sheets, and outside of that the 34-year-old was dominant with just two walks and 69-of-96 pitches landing for strikes. Eovaldi has had a couple of clunkers, but has been a solid option even with the Rangers disappointing for the majority of the campaign.

Eovaldi punched out five opposing hitters on the evening while issuing one free pass. The Guardians scratched out single runs against him in the second, third and fourth innings, but were never able to turn those rallies into big innings. The 34-year-old right-hander got 14 whiffs on 106 pitches on the night — six each on his splitter and cutter — while posting a CSW of 27 percent. Now 9-7 on the season, he’ll tote a 3.79 ERA, 1.10 WHIP and a 128/30 K/BB ratio (133 innings) into Thursday’s showdown against the White Sox in Chicago.

Eovaldi gave up six hits, walked none and struck out six. He had allowed one run in the first seven innings, but he started the eighth inning by allowing three straight singles before he was removed. All three runners that were his responsibility scored after he left the game, soiling what had been a solid outing. Eovaldi has a 3.76 ERA on the year. The 34-year-old right-hander is set to face the Guardians on the road next week.